Good weather in Munich means that you can see the mountains as if they were right at the end of the street. Though the mountains aren’t really that close, you can reach them very quickly and easily to go for amazing hiking trips around Munich, completely without a car even. In this article, we want to show you some of our favorite hiking routes around Munich.
What would Munich without Mountains and mountains without hiking be?
Munich is closely connected to the mountains. One couldn’t imagine the city without them. Always in the background, no panorama picture of Munich does without the mountains, Munich’s water comes from the mountains, and often the weather comes from the mountains. And if the weather allows it Munich comes to the mountains, meaning the people of Munich. In these instances, the people of the surrounding areas like to complain about the reckless driving of the city’s drivers.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everybody and can be avoided easily, because many people use public transport to get to the mountains completely without a car. The train companies offer several tickets and connections with which you can easily reach the nicest hiking routes around Munich. The best would probably be to use the Bayern Ticket, but for some destinations, special offers for the trains will be better suited to reach the mountains. The DAV (German Alpine Society) provides a summary of the different ticket options on their website that will bring you directly into the mountains from Munich and to the hiking routes.
Family hiking in Munich’s surroundings – These routes you can reach with the suburban train
For families and those who like to sleep in or aren’t particularly fond of the mountains the option of taking the suburban train to hiking routes around Munich is perfectly suited. These hikes will lead you along Isar, to picturesque places like St. Ottilien or lake Starnberg. You can practically begin right there where the best biking tours around Munich end.
There are clearly many more beautiful hiking routes around Munich that you can easily reach with the suburban train. We only want to list the two that we think of as the nicest ones.
Following Isar: Ebenhausen until Wolfratshausen
This route is perfectly suited for families with kids. The difference in altitudes from the beginning to the end is just about 100 meters and that is downhill all the way. In total, this hike could take from two and a half up to three hours. The way is incredibly beautiful along the riverbanks of Loisach. At the of the hike, you can just take the suburban train back to Munich.
Once around Geltendorf
Close to Geltendorf is the monastery of St. Ottilien. On the way through the flat landscape, you will walk just about 50 meters in altitude and you can complete the tour in around two to two and a half hours, and then just take the suburban train back to the city. In St. Ottilien there is a healing spring and the route is easy and walkable all year round and beautiful.
Hiking around Munich – It quickly gets mountainous
To start hiking you should just take the regional trains from Munich. These trains will bring you to Bad Tölz, Lenggries, Bayrischzell, Kufstein, or Tegernsee, to just name one direction. In these places alone there’s an almost endless supply of hiking routes, which is why we must make some decisions and only introduce you to a few selected classics.
The favorite hike around Munich: Partnachklamm
On holidays and Sundays, we recommend some caution. Partnachklamm is probably the most popular destination for hiking enthusiasts from Munich. Therefore, on specific days it can get extremely crowded there. That might either be since you can directly reach the entry point of the canyon by train, or that the hike along the river is perfectly suited for families. The hike through Partnachklamm is an incredible natural spectacle and we highly recommend it to everybody.
Hiking in the countryside of Tölz
The surroundings of the town of Tölz close to Munich are perfectly suited for short and long hiking trips. There are routes on which you can climb the peaks of Munich’s house mountains and others where you hike through flat land. In both cases the panorama is breathtaking.
Most of the time, we would recommend you not to take the train directly to Tölz but to drive a little further. Some nice routes start in Benediktbeuern or Lenggries. Sometimes you have to take a bus before you reach the starting point of the hike. But that’s not complicated at all and doesn’t take a long time either.
Rechelkopf
One rather unknown route starts directly in Bad Tölz. The mountain Rechelkopf is the closest mountain to Munich. It is just 46 kilometers away from Marienplatz as the crow flies. To get there you get out at the train station of Gaißach. The mountain is not particularly spectacular, but perfectly suited for a little family trip.
Brauneck and Geierstein
Hiking up Brauneck is amazing and your efforts will be rewarded by a stunning view over the Isar valley. Geierstein is in the same area where a just as amazing view awaits you. This peak is a little less well known, and therefore less packed. Along Tegernsee and various places around there are many other scenic hikes that are easy to reach by train and/or short bus rides.
Jochberg and Herzogstand
From Kochel you can easily reach Jochberg by bus. Same as Herzogstand, which is right next to Jochberg, is very accessible by bus. Both are very well liked “front yard” mountains of Munich in the Bavarian alps and on both you can find numerous hiking routes with different levels of difficulty.
Hiking in Chiemgau – Easy to reach from Munich
Lake Chiemsee itself is worth a day trip. Everybody should see the castle Herrenchiemsee, built by the same king that built Neuschwanstein. But the hiking trails on the mountains around the lake are worth a visit. One is especially noteworthy, and is extremely recognizable for its unusual shape, but of course for its beautiful trails as well:
Kampenwand
Like the Partnachklamm, the Kampenwand is one of the absolute classics among Munich’s day trip destinations. Therefore, it’s worth setting off early so you don’t have to go to a completely crowded mountain, or, if possible, plan the hike for during the week. Almost at the top, there is an Alm, where you can stop, and strengthen yourself for the following final part. Because this needs strengthening, here it is more about mountain hiking. You climb over scree and further up along steep rock cliffs to the summit, from which the view is definitely worth it.
Fellhorn
Even “true-blooded” Chiemgauiens sometimes forget about this little treasure. A beautiful secret tip. You can get here from Munich by public transport, first taking the train to Ruhpolding and then changing onto the Bus and getting out at Seegatterl. The hike to the peak is long but not very hard. There are three inns or Alms on the way to the top and you can even reach the last inn with a mountain bike still.
Feldlahnalm
Feldlahnalm is the perfect destination for a family trip with kids. The hike there is easy and not exhausting at all. On the Alm itself there you will find a petting zoo and a playground. The path to the Alm leads you through a small canyon, Hammerer Graben, along a river. Therefore, it is exciting and entertaining for the kids, too. Of course, you can arrive by train as well, at least to the starting point. You will take the train to Prien am Chiemsee and from there get a bus that gets you to Brem. From here it’s just a couple of minutes of walking to get to the starting point of the hike.
Some little-known hikes in Munich’s mountains
We are slowly reaching the limits of our capacity to find suiting categories for the countless hiking mountains around Munich. Already, we had to leave out so many, by concentration only on those that you can reach via public transport. But even with those, public transport accessible hiking trips around Munich, there are so many still that we decided to specifically look at the lesser-known hiking routes in our last category.
Ringspitz close to Tegernsee
This hike is a bit more challenging and especially in wet conditions, you should be extremely careful. The slightly increased exhaustion will be worth it though since you won’t have to share the amazing view of the lake Tegernsee with masses of other hikers. The best way to get to Ringspitz is to take the train to Gmund am Tegernsee and then continue by bus to Ringsee.
Silberkopf with a small self-catering hut
Let’s stay at Tegernsee for a short while longer, shall we? Here you can find the little-visited Silberkopf which, basically as a small gimmick for the real outdoor freaks, has a self-catering hut on top. The DAV has more information on how the hut works and what you have to know if you, for example, want to spend a night there. The hike up Silberkopf is not particularly complicated and quite family-friendly. From the train station close to Tegernsee you get into the bus until Scharling Grundnerweg Kreuth and from there continue a little until the beginning of the hike.
Latschenkopf
One last nice, exciting and little-known hike around Munich leads up Latschenkopf close to Lenggries. This hike is a little bit more complicated already and if you want to master it you should definitely bring some mountain hiking experience with you. In some places there are no signs showing you the way, therefore you should get informed about the route beforehand. You can reach the hike by taking the train from Munich to Lenggries and then taking the bus to Jachenau.
Summer in the City of Munich
In their song “Sommer in the City” the Spider Murphy Gang described so many things that are perfectly suited for the summer in Munich. In the coming weeks, we will also look exactly at these topics and take a peek at different summer activities in Munich. Who already wants to cool down right now can look at the 10 best open air pools in Munich or the best Spots close to the Isar.
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